Welcome to the short, practical Lelamed Weekly Dvar (and Daily Aliya).
Please consider forwarding this to others, and I hope you enjoy... Shabbat
Shalom.
Dvar Torah for Shelach 2nd Aliya
While the stage was set for the tribal leaders to bring the Jews into the
Promised Land, Parshat Shelach describes the tragic negative report that
condemned the Jews to the desert for forty years until the next generation
was ready to claim their Promised Land. As the Lubavitcher Rebbe asked:
Roughly a year after the miracles in Egypt, the splitting of the sea, the
giving of the Torah, and many other miracles, how could the tribal leaders
suddenly doubt G-d’s ability to help us occupy the land that was promised
to us? The Jews’ doubts are even more difficult to understand if you
consider Rachav’s description of Yericho’s residents’ fear of the Jews as
they neared (Joshua 2:9-11).
The Lubavitcher Rebbe answered his question by saying that the leaders
didn’t fear failure; they feared success in a new way of life. G-d was
close and intimate with His people while they were wandering in the desert.
The leaders knew that entering the land meant fighting battles, creating an
economy, farming the land, and being confronted with other distractions.
However, perhaps what they didn’t realize was that their success was easily
attainable and right in front of them in the form of Torah, written
precisely to enable them to thrive in society and serve as a moral guide to
engage with the world. While being close to G-d alone in the desert is an
amazing experience, using the Torah to help us navigate the world is its
true purpose.
Shlomo Ressler
Quotation of the week:
"Gratitude helps you see what's there instead of what isn't."
Welcome to the short, practical Lelamed Weekly Dvar (and Daily Aliya).
Please consider forwarding this to others, and I hope you enjoy... Shabbat
Shalom.
_______________________________________________
Dvar Torah for Shelach 2nd Aliya
While the stage was set for the tribal leaders to bring the Jews into the
Promised Land, Parshat Shelach describes the tragic negative report that
condemned the Jews to the desert for forty years until the next generation
was ready to claim their Promised Land. As the Lubavitcher Rebbe asked:
Roughly a year after the miracles in Egypt, the splitting of the sea, the
giving of the Torah, and many other miracles, how could the tribal leaders
suddenly doubt G-d’s ability to help us occupy the land that was promised
to us? The Jews’ doubts are even more difficult to understand if you
consider Rachav’s description of Yericho’s residents’ fear of the Jews as
they neared (Joshua 2:9-11).
The Lubavitcher Rebbe answered his question by saying that the leaders
didn’t fear failure; they feared success in a new way of life. G-d was
close and intimate with His people while they were wandering in the desert.
The leaders knew that entering the land meant fighting battles, creating an
economy, farming the land, and being confronted with other distractions.
However, perhaps what they didn’t realize was that their success was easily
attainable and right in front of them in the form of Torah, written
precisely to enable them to thrive in society and serve as a moral guide to
engage with the world. While being close to G-d alone in the desert is an
amazing experience, using the Torah to help us navigate the world is its
true purpose.
Shlomo Ressler
_____________________________________________
Quotation of the week:
"Gratitude helps you see what's there instead of what isn't."